Various types of packaging options are available today and are often used by consumers, industries, and numerous retailers to store food and other consumables for later use or consumption. It is often desirable for specific food retailers to present a product that appears attractive to consumers, e.g., to increase product sales and promote a particular brand.
Coffee beans have a tendency to release a significant amount of gas following the roasting process, even after the coffee beans have already been placed in a sealed bag, container or other like packaging. The presence of excessive gas and/or pressure within a sealed container or package may result in the container or package bulging and changing its shape or even bursting which can make the product unattractive to consumers and may impact the manufacturer by decreasing the amount of sales of those coffee beans.
Accordingly, one-way valves have heretofore been applied to packages containing roasted coffee beans in order to release excess gas from the interior of the container to the external environment, while inhibiting the flow of external gas and/or contaminates from the external environment into the otherwise sealed container or package. Such valves generally open in response to a small or minimal (i.e., near zero) pressure differential ΔP between the package interior and the external environment. That is to say, such valves generally remain open until the interior pressure is substantially equalized with the exterior pressure. Moreover, the flow rate of gas through the valve tends to be linear with respect to the aforementioned pressure differential. While generally useful, such valves can be undesirable in some instances and/or otherwise exhibit certain limitations.
For example, roasted coffee beans are commonly packaged at a relatively low altitude which tends to have a higher ambient external pressure as compared to higher altitudes, e.g., at which airplanes shipping the packaged coffee may fly. When the roasted coffee is initially packaged (e.g., at or near ground level), the pressure differential between the interior and exterior of the otherwise sealed packaging causes the valve to open and allow gas to escape the package. Accordingly, the pressure differential drops as the gas escapes and the pressure inside the packaging decreases. At some point, the pressure differential is no longer sufficient to keep the valve open, and the valve closes. Commonly, some gas remains trapped in the packaging at this point, and therefore some degree of interior pressure is retained. However, when the packaged coffee is then shipped by air freight or even trucked over mountains, at the relatively higher altitude the external pressure experienced by the package may be relatively lower than the external pressure at which the coffee was initially packaged. In this case, the pressure differential may again exceed a threshold at which point the valve reopens, thereby allowing additional gas that remained in the package to again be expelled. Accordingly, the pressure inside the package is lowered yet further until the valve once again closes. Finally, when the package is again brought to a lower altitude with a correspondingly higher external pressure, the container or package may appear compressed or crushed, e.g., due to the relatively lower interior pressure of the package that was achieved as a result of its shipping over a higher altitude route. In some instances, consumers may be displeased with the compressed or crushed appearance of the package and may therefore be less inclined to purchase the product. This can of course be undesirable from the view point of the coffee manufacturer and/or retailer.
Accordingly, a new and/or improved valve is disclosed which addresses the above-referenced problem(s) and/or others.